


December Magic

by Kailee008



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018), Ocean's Eleven Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Christmas, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, Heist Wives, Medium Length, romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-09-01 17:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16769830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kailee008/pseuds/Kailee008
Summary: Lou is a wealthy local woman who is running away from a dark past when she's stopped in her tracks by an art appraiser who turns her world upside down just in time for Christmas.





	1. Estate

"Debbie? Can you come here for a minute?" Daniel Ocean calls out. 

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Debbie says as she made her way over to her brother's desk. Debbie and Danny Ocean were art appraisers in the big town of San Fransisco California. They had taken over their father's business last summer when he suddenly got ill.

"I know it's late notice, but there's an emergency appraisal job is in Santa Rosa, California. I need you to take it," Daniel says. 

"What? I have so many other things to do Daniel. This business is going under, and I need to balance the books," Debbie whines. 

"There's a really cool collection of old books there.." Danny says raising his eyebrow. Deb rolls her eyes. She couldn't believe he was luring her with books to go out and do a job. 

"Who's going to do our books?" Debbie asks. 

"I'll do them, plus this could really help with our books. They're willing to pay a lot and you know we need all the money we can get," Danny says. Debbie sighs and takes the file that is sitting on Danny's desk. 

As she looks over it she gasps, "Danny this is going to take forever!" Debbie says. 

"It can't, the person wants it done by Christmas," Danny says. 

"What? That's only a month away..." Debbie whines again. 

"You're the best in the biz, come on, you got this," Danny says with a teasing smile. 

"Alright, but if those books suck, I'm going to kill you," Debbie teases. Daniel just smiles and hands her the file. 

"It's about an hour away, it's called the Miller Mansion. It shouldn't be hard to find," Danny says. Debbie nods and takes the file. She goes home and packs enough clothes for 2 weeks and heads out. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Debbie arrives, she can't help but smile as she drives through the town. It isn't small, but it's smaller than San Fransisco. It's quiet, but not too quiet. When she pulls up to the mansion, her mouth drops. It is a beautiful old Victorian Stick style house with a wrap around porch and beautiful woodwork that defined the house. 

As she gets out of the car a woman walks up to her and offers her hand.

"Hi, you must be Ms. Ocean. My name is Mrs. Potter, I am the caretaker here," Mrs. Potter says as she takes Debbie's hand. 

"Oh hello, you can call me Debbie," Debbie says while flashing a smile. 

"Well hello Debbie, here let me help you with your bags, I'll take you to your room," Mrs. Potter says as she opens Debbie's SUV's back door. The women walk to the house together, with bags in each hand. 

"Watch your step love," Mrs. Potter says as she walks up the stairs. Debbie makes sure to watch her step as she climbs the stairs. She then stops cold in her tracks when she looks up to see a woman with blonde medium length hair and aquamarine blue eyes staring down at her from a top window. 

"Who's that?" Debbie asks as she makes her way to the door. 

"That's Lou Miller, owner of the house," Mrs. Potter says softly. As she jimmies the door open, Lou is standing there with her arms folded and a cold look on her face. Debbie looks over the blonde woman carefully. She is wearing black combat boots with a pair of faded black skinny jeans. A blue button up is loosely tucked into the jeans and her hair, which has a slight ringlet curl to it, is gently laid on her shoulders, and her bangs are messy but swept enough to keep from completely blocking her icy blue eyes. 

"Hi Lou, this is--" Mrs. Potter begins to stay.

"You aren't who I was expecting," Lou says coldly. 

"Oh uh, yeah you talked to my brother, him and I work together-" Debbie begins to explain but is cut off. 

"I don't care, I expected your brother. I would prefer your brother to be here," Lou snaps.

"Lou..." Mrs. Potter says softly. Lou shoots her a look and all Mrs. Potter does is roll her eyes and takes the bags into the house. 

"I am sorry there was a mix-up, but if you want your house done by Christmas, I am your best shot. Especially with the extensive library you say you have," Debbie says confidently. Lou raises her eyebrow as she is not used to being challenged. 

"Alright, well, you better get started, you only have a month," Lou says. Debbie nods and follows Lou as Lou walks upstairs carrying one of Debbie's bags. In the hall, Debbie's eyes scan over every little detail that littered the walls. She makes mental notes of all the things she is interested in. Lou watches the brunette as she eyes the walls and a small smirk appears on her lips. 

Lou opens the door to the bedroom and as they walk in Debbie stops in the doorway with her mouth hung open. Debbie scoops up her mouth as she notices the blonde staring at her. The ceilings were white with gold trim and accents throughout. There is a crystal chandelier that hung above a grand bedroom. The room is covered in blue, white and gold furniture and accessories. 4 windows took up huge spaces in the wall as they towered from the ceiling all the way to the floor. A white and gold vanity sat in the corner, a table and a set of chairs were placed across from it, and an antique daybed, which had the same pattern as the chairs, was on the opposite side of the room. 

"This room is beautiful... are you sure it's a guest room?" Debbie asks as she looks at Lou.

"Oh, no this isn't a guest room. This is the master," Lou says as she sets down Debbie's bag.

"Oh. You don't have to give me your room, I am happy to sleep somewhere else," Debbie says as she reaches for her bag. 

"This isn't my room. I sleep down the hall. Now, there is food in the kitchen, you are welcome to any of it. I will not make you food. The laundry room is in the back of the house. You may use that as you need also. Wifi password is "Rose1902". I'll be in my room most of the time you're here. Knock if you need help with something specific, otherwise, Mrs. Potter can take care of you. She knows this house well," Lou says coldly. 

"Oh okay, may I ask why this isn't your room?" Debbie asks softly. 

"Personal reason. Now get to work please, I didn't pay you to pry into my life," Lou says and walks out of the room. Debbie sighs as she watches the blonde woman leave. But she can't help but smile the minute the woman leaves as the room she is in is just too beautiful to ignore. She walks over to the windows and gracefully caresses the curtains. She brushes her hand against the beautiful white vanity and a bit of dust comes off. 

"How could someone ignore such a beautiful room like you," Debbie says out loud. She then grabs her backpack and walks down the stairs and into the parlor room. Debbie pulls out her laptop and begins to inventory all the items in the room. After about 30 minutes she is interrupted by small footsteps. When Debbie looks up, she is met with a smiling woman with a plate which had a BLT and some chips. 

"Oh hello Debbie, I thought you might be hungry," Mrs. Potter says.

"Thank you, you didn't have to though," Debbie says as she takes the plate. 

"Oh I know darlin. I also wanted to say I'm sorry for the way Lou behaved. She is rough around the edges, but I promise you she's a good person," Mrs. Potter says. 

"Thanks," Debbie says quietly. Mrs. Potter nods and exits the room. Debbie sighs and takes a bite of her food before continuing cataloging the rest of the room. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, how is it going in here?" Lou says as she enters the room. 

"What? Huh?!" Debbie says startled. She quickly lifts her head up and rubs her eyes. Oh shit, she thought. She must've fallen asleep while she was cataloging. 

"I'm sorry I startled you, I just noticed you weren't in your room and I thought I should check on you..." Lou says semi concerned but when she realizes that she woke the brunette up, her voice changes. "Though it seems you've fallen asleep at the job. Quite unprofessional don't you think?" Lou says coldly. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. But I did finish the parlor, the first living room with the dry bar, and the entrance hall. I was about to do this room next.. it looks like I only got this wall done before..." Debbie explains and then trails off as she looks at her computer. 

"Well it's 1 am, I suppose you should get some sleep so you can be productive tomorrow," Lou rolls her eyes. 

"Yeah, thanks," Debbie says sharply. She grabs her computer and walks past the blonde woman and up the stairs. Lou watches the brunette's every move. To the way Debbie's jaw clenches as she passes her, and how her eyes roll to the right, and she walks to the way her ass jiggles a little as she bounces up the stairs. The blonde can't help but smirk again as she notices all these things, but that smirk is quickly erased as she feels that pain in her chest she has now become best friends with. 

Debbie enters her room with a huff and tosses her laptop gently onto the daybed, which prompts a pair of pointy ears to shift in her direction. 

"Oh my, what do we have here?" Debbie asks with a smile. The ears poke out from behind the bed and her eyes meet a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes and a wet black nose that is glistening due to the chandelier light directly above it. The dog makes its way over to her and immediately wags its tail. Debbie smiles and begins to scatch the dog behind its ears. The dog barks happily and pushes itself into Debbie which causes her to fall on her ass. The dog happily sits on her lap and thumps its tail against the hardwood floor. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Lou walks into her room and begins to take off her clothes. It was already 1:30 am. While she is comfortable in her attire, she never passes up the opportunity to strip down to a pair of boxer briefs and a camisole. After she tucks herself into bed, she realizes she's missing something. She sits up and scans around the room desperately. She raises her eyebrow as she looks over at the empty dog bed. 

"Shit, where did you go now?" Lou huffs. She quietly slips out of bed and walks down the hall. She whistles softly and pats her thigh but there is no sign of him. She is unsuccessful in the downstairs area, so she, as lightly as she can, makes her way up the stairs. She whistles again but there is not response. As she makes her way down the hall she notices that the room Debbie is staying in has the door slightly cracked open. She tilts her head as she walks to the door. She stops right in front of it and leans in slightly attempting to see if she could pick up on anything happening in the room. Lou can hear Debbie talking but she can't quite make out what she's saying so she knocks on the door. When she steps in, she finds Debbie, in a tank top and pj shorts, curled up on the bed with her dog. Deb sits up and covers herself with a blanket. 

"You know when you knock, you're supposed to wait for the person to respond," Debbie says harshly. 

"Sorry, I was just looking for my dog," Lou says unfazed by Debbie's tone. 

"Well he's here and he's fine," Debbie says as she rubs the dog's stomach. 

"He doesn't usually let people do that," Lou says with a hint of disbelief in her voice. 

"Oh, I've been doing it all night, he's a huge cuddler," Debbie says smiling down at the dog. 

"No, he's not.." Lou says with the same tone. 

"Well, I wouldn't be a huge cuddler either if you're all I had to cuddle with," Debbie scoffs. Lou just glares at Debbie, which causes the brunette to flash a smile, and then she looks back at her dog.

"Come on Beast," Lou says as she makes her way toward the door. Beast doesn't move but instead lays his head on Debbie's lap. Lou turns around when she doesn't hear Beast move. 

"Beast, come on," Lou says again as she stands in the doorway. Beast rolls over onto his back and puts his paws up in the air. Debbie turns her head to hide another smile. 

"Beast. Now," Lou says harshly. 

"Look, it's okay if he stays... of course, if that's okay with you. He's really not much of a beast, I enjoy his company," Debbie says as she again scratches the dog's belly. 

"Sure, whatever, just don't forget to let him out in the morning. He gets up around 7 am, never later," Lou says. 

Just as Lou is about to walk away, Debbie calls out, "Hey, why is his name Beast anyways?" 

Lou stops and says without turning toward Debbie, "My fiancee named him that." Debbie's heart sank into her chest a bit. 

"Oh, I bet he's wonderful," Debbie says cheerfully. 

"She. And she was. Was wonderful.." Lou trails off. 

"Oh I'm so sorry.." Debbie begins to say but is cut off again. 

"Like I said, I am paying you to do your job, not meddle in my personal life. What happened, happened. Now goodnight," Lou says roughly and then walks off. 

"Goodnight Lou," Debbie says softly. 

Debbie slips under the covers and Beast curls up beside her. 

"I'm sorry for your loss Beast," Debbie whispers into the dog's ear. Beast whimpers but licks Debbie's check. Debbie smiles and wraps an arm around the big dog. 

"Sleep well Beast," Debbie whispers before falling asleep.


	2. The Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debbie spends another day in Lou's mansion exploring. What will Debbie uncover behind the old furniture and built up dust?

A soft wet nudge woke Debbie up from her slumber. She pushes it away and rolls back over. Then something wet ran over her cheek which caused her to sit right up. She looked over at the clock and it was 8 am. 

"Huh, something else she was wrong about. She doesn't know you very well does she Beasty?" Debbie whispers softly. Beast nudges her and wags his tail excitedly. Debbie gets up and slips on a grey sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans and a pair of boots. She brushes her hair at the vanity and smiles to herself as she imagines herself as a princess. Her fantasy is interrupted when Beast cries out and paws at the door. 

"Alright buddy, I'm sorry. I'll be there in a second," Debbie says. She walks over and lets the dog out. Beast bounds down the stairs and to the door. She follows happily, loving having a friendly companion in this giant house. She opens the back door and gasps as she realizes how beautiful the grounds are. There is a giant pool and a yard that rivaled anything she's ever seen before. She steps out farther and begins to examine the yard more. The pool is lined with couches and there is a black gazebo with trees and flowers surrounding it. The yard looks as if it extends forever, but that idea is interrupted by the sounds of cars nearby and the iron fence.

Debbie grabs her phone and begins to write notes about all the things that she could catalog outside. While it wasn't much, she figures it would be better to do it now while she was here. 

"You're late," a familiar voice says. Debbie turns around to find Lou leaning up against the double doors. 

"He woke me up at 8, I just followed what he wanted," Debbie says softly. 

"The bastard never lets me sleep in," Lou huffs playfully. Debbie smiles softly at this joke and then looks back out at the yard. Lou slips off into the kitchen and begins to whip up some breakfast. Beast darts back into the house once the powerful smell of bacon begins to flow out of the doors. Debbie also follows the smell and sits down at the island in the kitchen. The kitchen had white cabinets and black marble countertops. There is a chandler in the middle and over a small dining table. There is a black wallpaper with geek Gods and goddess the covers the spaces that aren't covered by cabinets or windows or time period art. 

"Is every room in this house this beautiful?" Debbie asks softly. 

"Hmm I guess if this is what you consider beautiful," Lou shrugs. 

"I think everyone besides you thinks this is beautiful. It's definitely a huge selling point," Debbie says. 

"Good, I want to be out of here sooner rather than later," Lou says. The blonde woman then lays out two plates and puts bacon, eggs, toast, and some salsa on the side. 

"I thought you weren't going to be cooking me anything," Debbie says playfully. 

"Thought I'd be somewhat nice," Lou shrugs. The woman takes her plate and then escapes off into her room. Debbie smiles as she watches the woman leave. Her heart flutters a little as she watches the woman's curves and hips swing. _Oh god stop that right now,_ Debbie thinks to herself. She begins to shove the food into her mouth. The minute the eggs and salsa touch her taste buds, her eyes roll back into her head and it takes all her effort not to moan out loud. _And she can cook. Holy shit,_ Debbie thinks.

After she finishes breakfast, she grabs her laptop and wanders toward a metal spiral staircase which will lead her into the reason she agreed to take this job in the first place. The library. She feels as if she is Belle from Beauty and the Beast as she walks softly up the stairs. She is met with a beautifully engraved mahogany wood door. It has roses all around the door, and in the middle, there's what looks like a grandfather and a little girl sitting in a rocking chair reading. The girl vaguely looks like it could be Lou. Debbie's heart swells as she studies the door. 

"I guess the dragon was once a pretty little princess," Debbie says to herself. She puts her hand on the gold knob and turns it slowly. As she enters, her jaw hits the floor. The room is filled with custom redwood bookshelves that tower to the ceiling and sink into the floor. One of those rolling staircases that connected to the bookshelves stood behind a large mahogany desk. The only break from the bookshelves is a window, with red velvet curtains that are hung from a gold rod, and a brick fireplace that has two old leather chairs and two tables made from redwood beside each. She now really felt like Belle as she dragged her jaw along the floor as she stepped farther into the room. She could not believe someone owned something so beautiful, and someone would ever want to sell this. Whoever's library this was put a lot of time, love and attention into it. 

She walked around the room slowly and examined each book cover. Some were torn and battered, but others were in mint condition. She took one of the old ones out and sat at the desk. She opened the book, and if she hadn't have laid it on the table it would have been on the floor. 

"Oh my god this is a first edition _A Christmas Carol_ , by Charles Dickens," Debbie gasps.

"Is that a good thing?" a soft voice asks. Debbie turns around to see Lou leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. Debbie licks her lips quickly as she looks the woman over. Her jeans hugging her slim figure in all the right ways. Her button up shirt just see-through enough to give Debbie a taste of what is underneath and the top unbuttoned to where her breasts are peaking out. 

"I-Uhh, yes oh my gosh yes," Debbie fumbles over her words, "Do you know how much this is worth?" 

Lou shrugs, "no."

"At least $500,000. If not more with this condition," Debbie exclaims. 

"Cool," Lou says nonchalantly. 

"Who's library was this anyways?" Debbie asks. 

"My grandfather's. This whole house is theirs. They immigrated here from Australia. They were antique dealers. My father moved back to Australia for college where he met my mother. They both died in a car accident when I was 11 and my brother, Harold, was 6. Our grandparents took us in, and they raised us here. When my grandmother died, my brother went through a crime phase. I guess he's still in it, given he's locked up in San Quentin... and when my grandfather died, he left this all to me," Lou explains. She walks around the library as she tells the story, and Debbie's eyes follow her every movement. She stops at the window at the end of her story and stares out of it. Debbie's heart sinks when she hears about Lou's parents, her troubled brother, and her grandparents. 

"Well your grandfather put a lot of love, time and attention into this library.. It's not something just to sell away.." Debbie says softly. Lou turns around and glares at her. 

"It's mine now, and I will do what I want with it. How many times do I have to remind you, I'm paying you to appraise these things, and help me sell this place, not get into my personal life," Lou says harshly. Debbie looks down and nods defeatedly. While it was Lou who opened up, she wasn't going to push the subject. Lou stormed out of the library and down the stairs. Debbie could hear another pair of footsteps as they climbed up the stairs. She raised her eyebrow and watched for someone to enter the door, but no one came in. She slowly gets up and runs straight into a wagging furball. 

"Oh it's just you Beast," Debbie smiles. She sits back down and begins to catalog the books one by one, careful not to damage any of the already crumbling books. She opens Spotify and puts on her "Lax Vibes" playlist which is filled with slow pop, R&B, and rap. Most would think it contradicts this type of work, but it gives her enough of a beat to flow to and really gets lost in. The words mean nothing to her even though she knows every single one of them. 

She uses the ladder and glides from shelf to shelf and smiles as she does. She's never been so happy in a single room before. All her favorite things were there and there was no one to interrupt her or tell her to stop. 

A few more hours passed by, and she wasn't even close to halfway done with the room. The smell of tomato sauce and garlic bread infiltrate their way into the room, which causes Debbie's stomach to grumble. She laughs to herself and looks at Beast who looks surprised by the loud noise. Debbie steps off the ladder one last time and grabs her laptop. 

"Come on Beast, it smells like it's dinner time," Debbie says smiling. Beast darts out of the room and down the stairs. She follows the wagging tale but stops to look at the room one last time before shutting the door. She walks down the stairs slowly and she can feel a pair of eyes staring at her. 

She wasn't wrong. Lou was sitting in the lounge with a book in her lap, but her eyes looked up as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. But she wasn't just looking to see who it was, she was watching Debbie walk down the stairs, eyeing her hand gliding down the rail, etching the way she swings her hips into her brain, and listening intensely to the sound her boots make against the metal staircase. Debbie stops before the light reaches her face in order to hide her red cheeks. Once she feels the heat leave her cheeks, she continues down and looks at Lou. 

"Mrs. Potter is making dinner," Lou says with a smile. 

"That sounds great," Debbie says. She slips off into the kitchen and the blonde woman follows. Debbie hides a small smile and sits at the island. 

"Hello Debbie, how was your day?" Mrs. Potter asks. 

"Oh it was wonderful, the library is everything I could have ever imagined," Debbie beams. 

"I'm glad someone appreciates that thing," Mrs. Potter says as she looks directly at Lou. Lou rolls her eyes and takes the seat next to Debbie. 

"Got any plans for Thanksgiving? It's tomorrow," Lou asks. 

"Oh, I thought I was staying here? I mean I have so much work still, and it's already November 27th. If you want it done before Christmas, I think I should stay," Debbie says. 

"No honey, Lou can spare you a day. You need to spend that day with your family," Mrs. Potter interjects. 

"I-I umm, yeah you can have the day off I suppose. As long as you think you can work extra hard the days following," Lou stumbles. 

"Yeah, thanks, I appreciate it," Debbie smiles. Lou nods and cracks a small smile. Debbie blushes a bit, which causes Lou to bite her lip. 

"You know, if you weren't so stuck on leaving by Christmas, Debbie could experience the Christmas festival. Mrs. Potter says as she grabs down two plates and fills them both with spaghetti and pours a large ladle of sauce on top. She places the plates in front of them with a fork.

"What's the Christmas festival?" Debbie asks before taking a bite of her spaghetti. Before Lou can answer Debbie interrupts her with soft expressions of pleasure. 

"I'm sorry, but this is out of this world Mrs. Potter," Debbie says with her mouth still half full of food. She covers her mouth though to make sure they can't see. 

"Oh thank you, darling," Mrs. Potter says, "You should have tasted Mrs. Miller's food. She was the real cook." 

"Um back to the original topic, the Christmas festival is this thing this town puts on. There is a parade, a combination of the 6 high school's bands and choirs sing, and then for the adults, there is ball type of thing.." Lou mutters. 

"Oh my, that sounds absolutely wonderful," Debbie smiles. 

"Ehh, it's okay," Lou shrugs and takes another bite. 

"No Lou, Debbie is right. It is wonderful, and unfortunately this year, there is nowhere to host the Christmas Ball. All the venues have been booked or they burned down," Mrs. Potter says sadly. Debbie nods. She remembers those October fires that ran wild throughout Northern California. She remembers the city being filled with smoke and evacuates. This town was hit the hardest that round, and while it was rebuilding, you could still see the scars. Not just on the ground or on the trees, but in people's eyes too. 

"Oh no, that's unfortunate," Debbie says after swallowing.

"Yeah, but you know, we could still have it. Your grandmother hosted the dance here one year. It was beautiful, don't you remember?" Mrs. Potter nudges Lou. 

"Yeah, I was 14," Lou says unfazed. 

"Well, we could have it here," Mrs. Potter says. 

"No. I want to be out of here before then." Lou says as she slams her fork onto her plate. Debbie and Mrs. Potter jump back a bit at this. Lou takes a deep breath and then excuses herself from the table. 

"I'm sorry about that, it's a touchy subject for her. But, I just thought with you being here, she would open up a bit," Mrs. Potter says sadly. 

"Why do you think she'd open up with me here?" Debbie asks. While she doesn't get a direct answer, Mrs. Potter just winks at her and turns away to get herself a plate. 

Once Debbie finishes, she washes her plate and walks upstairs. She grabs one of her bags and begins to pack it for tomorrow. When she is finished, she is met with two big brown eyes waiting on her bed. She laughs and climbs into bed and wraps her arms around Beast. 

In the middle of the night, Lou gets up and walks past Debbie's room where she finds the door cracked open once again. She takes a deep breath. _Why am I even here? I don't even like this girl,_ Lou thinks. But her body betrays her mind as she opens the door just a sliver more. Her heart begins to beat faster at the sight before her. Debbie is fast asleep with Beast wrapped up in her arms. The 43 muscles in her face move into a smile despite her best efforts to keep stoic. She slips into the room and places the blanket over both of them. 

"Goodnight Beauty and the Beast," Lou whispers and slowly exits the room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I apologize for the late update again. Keeping with the schedule of two series is more challenging than I thought. Though this will be much shorter than Ocean's 8 1/2. Thanks for reading! Hope you're having a wonderful night/day whenever you're reading this. 
> 
> xoxo


	3. Thanksgiving Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As most family holidays go, the Ocean's Thanksgiving is about to get messy with an unexpected visitor. How will Deb react? And how will Lou react when she finds out about this mystery guest?

It is the morning Thanksgiving, and Debbie was already up when Lou came looking for her. When Lou entered the room, she found Debbie already packed and Beast giving her the saddest of eyes, begging her to stay. Lou felt for the dog because deep down, she also wanted the woman to stay. 

"It's like you can't wait to get out of here," Lou says as she leans against the doorway. 

"Well, it's kind of hard to want to be in a place you aren't actually wanted," Debbie says as she grabs her bag and walks past the blonde. Lou rolls her eyes and watches Debbie as she makes her way down the stairs. She follows behind a little too closely and almost runs into her when Debbie makes an abrupt stop at the end of the stairs. 

"Ooof," Lou says to herself. Debbie turns around when she hears Lou and raises her eyebrow at their close proximity. Lou takes a step back and Debbie takes one forward. 

"I'll be back tomorrow morning, no later than 11 am," Debbie says softly. 

"Better be," Lou says. Debbie rolls her eyes and walks out the door to her car. Beast follows her instinctively but Debbie shoos him away as she knows she can't take him with her. 

"I'm sorry buddy, I'll be back I promise. I won't leave you alone with the real Beast," Debbie says as she pets the chocolate labrador. Beast whines but retreats back to Lou who has found herself up against the doorframe. Lou just stares out at the brunette as she slips into her SUV and pulls out of the driveway. 

"You'd make a cute couple," Mrs. Potter says. Lou jumps a bit as she didn't realize anyone else was there. 

"No we wouldn't. She's insufferable," Lou growls. 

"Oh, like you're any better Ms. Miller," Mrs. Potter scoffs. Lou scowls and Mrs. Potter playfully swipes at Lou. 

"She couldn't even possibly like me anyways. It's our 3rd day of knowing each other," Lou says as she follows Mrs. Potter into the kitchen. 

"Love knows no time," Mrs. Potter winks. Lou shakes her head and spends the rest of the day sulking around. 

Debbie, on the other hand, spends her day enjoying every minute of it. She rolls down her windows and lets the fresh air flow through her car as freely as the music blasting through the radio. She sings her heart out the whole ride. Driving is the escape that has saved her many times in her past. And right now, she needs to escape not only Lou, but her conflicted feelings about her family business. The last year had been life-changing. Danny and she took over the family business, but it felt like it was her doing all the hard work. She spent every day at the firm, every day figuring out ways to keep them afloat, and Danny just dicked around. He'd show up when he was needed and when he wanted to, but he never really cared about the business. And while Debbie never really was interested in every single antique, her love for old books kept her grounded to the business. She continues to feel obligated to this business that her grandfather started over 100 years ago. But she also wants to be rid of the business, or at least only focus on books. 

The hour drive flies by as the thoughts that are swarming inside her brain and music consume most of the ride. When she arrives, she is greeted by an unexpected face. Claude Becker was standing with Daniel inside the firm which luckily was right above their home. 

When Claude hears the car pull up, he walks out of the firm and goes to open Debbie's door but she's too quick for him and jerks the door open. Which happens to hit him square in the nose, causing blood to drip from it. 

"That's no way to treat your boyfriend," Claude says as he covers his nose with his hand. 

"You're not my boyfriend Claude," Debbie says as she brushes right past him. 

"No, but that's only because you haven't given me a chance. I have asked you for almost a year now to go on a date with me. One date, and it's always excuses after excuses. Well, I am not going to take no for an answer anymore. Your brother invited me to Thanksgiving so we can properly sit down as a family," Claude says as he follows the brunette. Debbie rolls her eyes and opens the trunk to grab her bags. Claude rushes and grabs them for her. 

"Why me? I have never shown any interest in you. Yet you have all those other girls swooning over you, treating you like a God. Why don't you date one of them?" Debbie says as she tries to pull the bags back. 

"Because I like a challenge. Those girls are too easy, and they don't stimulate me like you do," Claude says while throwing the suitcase over his shoulder. 

"I am not something you can conquer Claude. I am not one of your challenges or things you can win over with sheer power. I am certainly not a prize you can win at the end of this little game you think we're playing," Debbie says sternly. 

"Oh but you are a prize, and I will win you over," Claude smiles as he walks toward the house. 

"You don't have to carry my bags, I am not helpless," Debbie says as she chases after him. 

"I know but as your date, it is my duty," Claude says. 

"You're not my date," Debbie growls. 

"For tonight I am, thanks to your brother," Claude winks. Debbie sighs again and just follows him into the firm. Claude walks in and carries her bags upstairs into their home. Before Debbie follows him, she stops at Danny's desk, where he is sitting and socks him in the shoulder. 

"Hey! What was that for?" Danny yells as he nurses his arm. 

"What the hell were you thinking inviting him to dinner?!" Debbie says loudly. 

"Oh come on, he's not that bad Deborah. Plus, you haven't been on a date in what.. 5 years? I thought this would be a perfect time," Danny says. 

"So you're now judging my dating life? Great Daniel. Well, thanks to you, I'm never going to get rid of him," Debbie says angrily. Danny just shrugs which causes Debbie's blood to boil even more. She storms upstairs, where she finds Claude going through her suitcase. 

"Excuse me? That's my stuff," Debbie says as she grabs the stuff away from him and closes her suitcase. 

"Sorry, just thought I'd help," Claude says as he backs away from the stuff. Debbie's eyes squint at him, and then she slips into her room. Claude tries to follow but has the door slammed shut on him again. 

"I'll be downstairs with the nicer of the Ocean's," Claude says. 

"If he's so nice, why don't you date him!" Debbie yells through the door. The soft sound of Claude's laugh was the only thing she could hear. She sat on her bed and threw her head back against her pillow. 

"God, how did this even happen?" Debbie mutters to herself. A few moments later though, her exhaustion gets the best of her and she ends up falling asleep until dinner. 

*knock knock* 

Debbie shoots up and looks around her room. _Oh shit, what time is it?_ Debbie thinks to herself. She finds her alarm clock and it's already 5 pm. 

"Who is it?" Debbie asks.

"It's your date," Claude says. 

"Ughhhhh, alright, I'm coming," Debbie says as she gets off her bed. She rummages through her closet and picks out a maroon short lace dress with sleeves and an open back, which barely covers her ass. The circular patterns hit in all the right places, and her gold clutch gives it that extra touch. She then slips on some black heels and puts on a gold necklace with a rose pendant. 

When Debbie opens the door, Claude's jaw drops as he looks her over. Debbie turns slowly and walks right past him toward the stairs. Claude follows her every movement with his eyes, as he is frozen in awe of her beauty. 

"Close that trap before you catch a fly," Debbie says right before she heads downstairs. Claude closes his mouth and practically runs after her. Once he catches up to her, he places a possessive arm around her waist which Debbie desperately tries to shake. But instead of his grip getting looser, his fingertips dig into her and pull her closer. 

"Claude," Debbie whispers harshly. 

"You are mine for the night, act like it," Claude barks. Debbie scoffs and tries to pull away one more time but is interrupted by her father and Danny. 

"Oh my, look how beautiful you are," Mr. Ocean says with a huge smile. Debbie blushes slight and smiles back as best she can. While she hates Claude, she can't disappoint her father, especially with him being so sick. He hardly ever smiled, and in order to keep that smile on his face, she decided that she could play nice for tonight. 

"Wow, now that is what kids nowadays call a 'power couple'," Danny smiles. Mr. Ocean nods in agreement which makes Debbie's heart sink a bit. Claude, of course, is smiling as bright as ever, as he's finally caught the one thing that has escaped his possession for all these years. While he had only been aggressively attempting to persuade Debbie this past year, he had always been chasing her. They had been friends ever since they were little despite their obvious class difference. They had both attended the same Catholic school which went from K-12 grade and only had 1 class per grade. Every few months, Claude had found a new girl in the class to play with, but Debbie was the only one who never fell for his tricks. She had dodged all his ticks back in their younger years. While Debbie went off to UC Berkeley right out of high school, Claude stayed behind to help run his father's company. Now he was a successful technology tycoon, who made his own millions creating an electronic currency related app. Despite all his material possessions, women, and money, he still felt incomplete. He was convinced though that if he had Deb, the one thing that escaped him all these years, that he would be complete. 

"Alright kiddos, let's go. We do not want to be late to dinner," Mr. Ocean says and winks at Debbie and Claude. Claude smiles and Debbie rolls her eyes. 

"Behave," Claude whispers once Mr. Ocean and Danny are out of earshot. 

"How about you behave," Debbie growls and slips out of his grip. She takes her father's arm and walks with him to the car. Claude follows closely behind. 

The entire car ride is silent, except for the radio which does its best to cut the tension that is building in the back seat between Claude and Debbie. Every few minutes Debbie is swatting away Claude's advances to place his hands anywhere further up than her knee. Once they pull up to the restaurant, the men get out first, and Claude opens up Debbie's door for her. Debbie glares at him and then smiles at her father who is patiently waiting for the duo. 

Paparazzi's cameras flash blind the family as they enter the restaurant. With making millions, Claude invested in the movie industry, which caused him to become sort of a celebrity. They made their way through the crowd and into the restaurant without incident. Danny and Mr. Ocean's smiles told Debbie all she needed to know about how they felt about the whole ordeal. " _ **I**_ ** _bet he called them to be here_** ," Debbie thinks to herself. 

"Wow, I could get used to that," Danny says.

"Oh, I am sure you could," Claude says with a smile. He wraps his arm back around Debbie and places a kiss on her temple. Debbie steps on Claude's foot and glares at him. Claude tightens his grip and looks back her with the same intensity. 

"Alright, right this way Mr. Becker," the hostess says. The family follows the woman and take their seats at a table in the back corner. Danny and Mr. Ocean sit next to each other, which leaves Debbie and Claude to sit together. Claude whispers something to the hostess and she nods back at him and leaves. Debbie raises her eyebrow as she suspicious of his plans for tonight. 

"So where are the menus?" Mr. Ocean asks as he looks around the empty table. 

"Oh, don't worry about that Mr. Ocean. I got everything taken care of. We're having the Thanksgiving special," Claude says smiling. 

"That's so kind of you Claude. I'm so glad a gentleman like yourself is dating my Debbie," Mr. Ocean says.

"Dad, we're not dating," Debbie says as kindly as she can even though she can feel her skin crawling at the suggestion of them dating.

"Debbie, come on now, he's been so nice to you and this family since he was a child. The least you can do is be his date," Mr. Ocean says. 

"I am only his date for tonight, he has still a lot to prove before he can ever think about changing that," Debbie says sternly. 

"Be nice Debbie," Danny says. 

"No, it's fine guys. Debbie is right. I must prove my worth to her, and I plan on doing that," Claude says reassuringly. Danny and Mr. Ocean nod and smile adoringly at him. Debbie almost gags at the sight. She can't believe they're falling for his maniacal tricks. 

"To start, 4 Ceasar salads, and a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne," the waiter says. He places the bottle in a bucket of ice and sets down 4 glasses before another waiter follows up with salads. Once they leave, Claude grabs the bottle and pours the glasses half full. 

"Happy Thanksgiving to my new family," Claude says as he raises his glass. 

"Happy Thanksgiving," Mr. Ocean and Danny say in unison. 

"Happy Thanksgiving," Debbie mumbles sourly. Their glasses touch in the middle and the 3 men take a sip while Debbie downs hers in one gulp. The rest of the night is filled with the foods of the holiday, small talk, and a bunch of alcohol which is only consumed by Debbie to pass the time faster. 

Back at the Miller estate, Lou is scrolling through her newsfeed on facebook while laying on her bed with Beast. Beast has been sulking all day, and Lou had been doing the same. Lou stumbles upon an article written by Complex featuring Claude Becker and his new mystery girl. While she never really cared for celebrity gossip, she recognized the name so she clicks on it. She scrolls down the article and almost drops her phone when she sees the picture. 

"Oh my god is that Debbie?" Lou says aloud. Beast's ears perk up when Lou says her name. Lou saves the picture and keeps reading through the article. Her skin begins to feel as if it were engulfed in flames. She reaches for her chest as her heart begins to get sharp pains. 

"Fuck you Debbie," Lou shouts and throws her phone across the room. It hits the wall and causes a photo to drop from the wall and shatter onto the floor. Mrs. Potter comes running and when she enters the room she gasps. 

"Lou..." Mrs. Potter whispers. Lou looks away and huffs. Mrs. Potter shakes her head and cleans up the mess Lou made. 

"I-I'm sorry," Mrs. Potter says softly.

"Why? She obviously wasn't interested in me and I was foolish to even believe you for a second," Lou spits out. Mrs. Potter shakes her head and heads for the door. Before she exits, she tosses the phone, which screen is somewhat shattered, back onto the bed. Beast whines and buries his head in Lou's lap. 

"Sorry Beast looks like we're back to where we started," Lou says as she pets the dog's head. Beast growls softly and huffs. 

"What a wonderful Thanksgiving present," Lou says as she grabs a bottle of Hennesey. She opens back up her phone and takes a swig at every new picture, article, or anything that mentions Deb or Claude or their relationship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry for the delay. I am hoping to finish this story on time, so that means I probably won't be updating Ocean's 8 1/2 for a bit. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I am doing my best to base it off the movie, but like I said, I wanted to make it my own, and better. Hope you are having a great night/day whenever you are reading this!
> 
> Xoxo


	4. Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debbie comes back to the Miller Estate and has to get right back to work so that she can finish the house before Lou's very specific date of Christmas. Lou gives her one rule to follow as she nears the end of her cataloging. Can Debbie follow this rule or will she break it and release some of Lou's hidden secrets?

The sound of men shouting downstairs woke Debbie up from her slumber. She reaches up to her face and rubs her eyes. 

"Oh god, what time is it?" Debbie says to herself. She turns over and looks at the clock and it's 7 am. 

"Well, at least I am not late," Debbie sighs. She gets up slowly and listens to the conversation below. While she can't make out what is being said, she can hear Danny's voice, her father's voice, and someone else's. Debbie raises her eyebrow as she realizes the other man is Claude. _He didn't sleep here, did he?_ Debbie asks herself. She looks down at herself and sees that she's in the pajamas she packed with her and sighs in relief. 

The rest of the night was a blur to her after the 3rd course. She kept downing the champagne as if her life depended on it. By the time dessert rolled around, Debbie was completely shit faced. Though luckily for her, none of them noticed. The boys spent the night emerged in a never-ending conversation about sports, business, and women. 

Debbie gets up and puts on a pair of black leggings, her black rainboots, a blue CAL shirt which she covered with a grey hoodie and a black vest. Then she begins to get her suitcase together so that she can hopefully slip out the back door without any of them noticing. The entire time she packs she can hear them arguing over something. She was curious to know what it was about but she also knew that she'd be dragged into whatever they were arguing about and that was the last thing she wanted. 

After opening her door, she grabs her bag and begins to creep down the staircase. She stops when she hears footsteps coming her way. 

"Why won't you let me buy the company?" Claude yells. 

"Because it's been in our family for over 100 years. We can't just give that up that easily," Mr. Ocean says quietly. 

"But you guys are going under, and if I had it, you'd never have to worry about money ever again," Claude says. 

"Money isn't the point Claude, it's family," Danny says as he walks past the staircase. Claude follows him and they enter the back of the store. 

"I am family now, Debbie and I are practically together, and there is no way I'm letting her go," Claude says. 

"Well, that's still up for Debbie to decide," Danny says sharply. Their voice trail off once they enter the back room. Debbie makes a run for it and slips out the front door knowing the window in the back room looks right out onto the back door. 

Instead of feeling free and happy this ride, Debbie's blood pressure is high and her mind can't stop racing. **_Why in the world would Claude buy us out? There is nothing for him, and I've made my wishes clear 100 times. I don't want him_** , Debbie thinks to herself. She shook her head and continued on with her hour drive. 

When she pulled up into the Miller Mansion's drive, she could feel the radiating angry energy Lou was emitting. Debbie sighs and grabs her bag and walks into the house. As she looks around, she can see beer cans and various trash scattered throughout the house. She looks around for any evidence Mrs. Potter was around, but she found none. Debbie makes a mental note about how to not bring up Thanksgiving if and when she sees Lou. She goes into the kitchen and grabs a trash bag so she can begin to pick up the bottles. As she's going throughout the downstairs, she is greeted by a very happy tail wag slapping against her leg. 

"Oh Beasty boy, how I've missed you," Debbie says as she scratches the dog's head. Beast barks loudly. 

"Shhh boy, shhhh," Debbie hushes and puts her hand over the dog's nose. Beast whines but then goes and lays down on the couch in the parlor. She goes back to cleaning up and once she's done she sets the bag down by the door and then grabs her suitcase and heads back up to her room. Her four-legged friend follows her and they both retreat to the bed where they end up sleeping for another 4 hours. 

Lou wakes up with a pounding headache and a sore throat. She couldn't remember what happened last night, but she knew she needed to grab something to stop the pain. As she stumbles into the bathroom she notices an empty Hennesey bottle on her dresser and her laptop on the floor softly playing "I Don't Fuck With You" by Big Sean. She shakes her head and grabs the bottle of Advil and pops 3 into her mouth and downs them with a glass of water. She then makes her way to her door where she runs into an empty cardboard box which used to hold a 12 pack. 

"What the hell did I do last night?" Lou asks herself aloud. She then opens the door and expects to find evidence of her drunken shenanigans, but there is not a thing out of place. While she doesn't remember much about last night, she does remember dismissing Mrs. Potter for the night after an argument about Debbie. 

"Ohhhhhh," Lou says as she recalls everything. Debbie. Debbie is the reason behind this headache from hell and the sore throat. Lou makes her way up the stairs and notices that the door to Debbie's room is slightly cracked again. She takes a deep breath as she realizes Debbie's back. She isn't really ready to face her, especially because her feelings and angry toward the woman were not totally rational, but she enters the room anyways. Beast's head perks up and he growls lowly at Lou. 

"Shh Beast," Lou whispers. Debbie shoots up as she hears someone else's voice in her room and to her surprise she finds Lou standing beside her bed. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep," Debbie says as she quickly gets up and smooths out her clothes. 

"No, it's okay, it's only 9, I said you could start at 11," Lou says. 

"Yeah, right, but I'll get up and start working anyways. I need the distraction," Debbie says with a small smile. 

"Oh, okay, sure," Lou stumbles. Debbie nods and gets up and grabs her laptop from her backpack. 

"What room should I start into today? I've gotten most of the downstairs, and the only about a quarter finished with the library," Debbie says. 

"How about cataloging this room and the master bath, I know you're in it, but might as well get it over with. Then you can continue with the upstairs rooms. There are 3 more bedrooms, a billiard hall, 3 guest bathrooms, and a study. Though I will have to warn you, the green room, you mustn't enter it. I already cataloged what's in there," Lou says the last part sternly. Debbie raises her eyebrow at the blonde but she nods. Lou nods back and then walks out the door and stumbles back into her room. 

Debbie recalls Mrs. Potter mentioning the green room the 1st day she was here. 

"Oh darling, I forgot, if you could please leave the farthest room in the upstairs alone," Mrs. Potter said. 

"May I ask why?" Debbie asked as she took a bite of her sandwich. 

"It used to Lou's fiancee's room. It was her favorite room because she loved roses. But now Lou hardly ever goes in there. I only go in there to take care of what's still alive. But if she caught you in there, all hell would break loose," Mrs. Potter whispered. 

"Alright, well I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mrs. Potter," Debbie said. 

"Well, I guess it's just you and me today boy," Debbie says as she looks back at Beast. Beast wags his tail and licks her head. Debbie smiles down at the dog and then begins to catalog the room. A few hours later and she's finished with the master bedroom, master bathroom, 2 of the guest bathrooms and is now on the billiard hall. Inside the hall, there are pictures of all the great Miller men, a few trophy animal heads and a dry bar in the corner. Debbie looks over the pictures with great attention to detail, not only to see who did the portraits but also to see what Lou's family looked like. She gasps as she makes it to the last portrait. 

"Wow Lou, you got a really hot brother," Debbie says to herself. Harold has the same mesmerizing blue eyes, but he has dirty blonde hair and a gorgeous dark brown beard. While he looked god-like in the portrait, Debbie couldn't help but feel as if Lou carried the same aura around her. Her awful temper and rough exterior made Debbie's blood boil but that crooked smile and those topaz eyes made her heart flutter. 

The next few hours are spent cataloging the rest of the room and moving onto the last of the guest bathrooms. When she enters the first of the guest bedroom, her lips curl into a smile as she realizes that this room must've been Harold's growing up. While most of his stuff is gone, there are a few art pieces, children trophies from various sports and a rack for hunting rifles. She smiles as she types in all the little trinkets. She had a list of things that were personal that Lou may want to keep and weren't really worth anything to the buyers. After taking the measurements of the room, she moves onto the next room. 

"Oh Lou..." Debbie laughs as she looks at the room. 

"What? Not what you expected?" Lou asks in a monotone voice. Debbie almost drops her computer as she hears Lou's voice. 

"Oh god, I didn't know you were there," Debbie says softly. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Lou says apologetically. 

"And yeah, I didn't figure you to be an ocean person," Debbie says as she looks at the room. 

"Well my grandfather was an avid fisherman, and with that came many stories about mermaids. I guess that stuck with me. And it helps that we're only about 30 minutes from it," Lou smiles a bit. 

"Well I love it," Debbie smiles. 

"Uhh well what I came in here originally for was to let you know that lunch is ready," Lou shrugs. 

"I thought you weren't feeding me?" Debbie questions teasingly.

"Fine, lunch isn't ready then. Find your own," Lou snaps back and walks away. Debbie just stares at the blonde. She has no idea what just unfolded before her, but she ignores it and continues into the room. Inside, everything looks as if it had been perfectly preserved and was waiting for a little girl to come back and live in it again. The walls were white except for one wall which was covered in a scale pattern. The scales alternated between gold, light blue, and dark blue. There was also a fishing net which had shells, sand dollars, and pictures hanging up in it as if they had been caught by the net. Debbie brushes her fingers over the net as she looks at the pictures of Lou and various friends. She couldn't help but giggle at the picture of Lou and her brother at what looks like the state fair. Debbie remembered her and her brother going to the same fair and also going into those photo booths. 

She then moved onto the bed, which is huge, even for an adult. A stack of pillows covers most of the bed, which all had the same theme, light blue, and white. The bed has a light blue coral pattern throughout. The side tables are white with gold accents and two lamps sit on both tables. They are shaped like an arch and are covered in gold. Debbie leans in closer and nods as her suspicions are confirmed. The lamps are solid gold. A few more ocean trinkets sit on the tops of the tables, and a picture of Lou and another woman sits alone next to a lamp on one of the tables.

Debbie examines the picture better and her heart sinks into her stomach. **_That must be her ex-fiance_** , Debbie thinks. She is absolutely stunning and Lou looks so unbelievably happy in the picture. Debbie tries to imagine a smile that big on the current Lou and she can't. She then makes a note of the gold starfish that litter the wall that the bed is against. She then moves onto the small desk which is simple unlike the rest of the house. Actually, this room was probably the most modern out of all of them she's seem so far. After she goes over the desk and the shell mirror which she notes is worth a pretty penny, she makes her way down the hall. As she reaches for the last bedroom doorknob, her eye catches the door that leads to the green room. She takes a few steps toward the room and reaches for the knob. She twists it and to her surprise, it's unlocked. 

"Just a peek won't hurt anyone," Debbie says to herself. She pushes the door open and is taken back by how horrible of a condition the room is. The vines that once climbed the walls were just dead brown strings that were barely hanging on. The flower beds are all dried out and all the flowers that are left standing are shriveled up. Debbie walks around the room, looking for any signs of life. In the middle of the room is a solid stone pedestal which has something on it but is covered by a large green sheet. Debbie grabs the sheet and pulls it down which revealed a rose plant that was barely alive. 

"Geezus, I can't let her kill you," Debbie whispers. She walks over to the spout and fills a water jug. After she gives the small rose bush a thorough watering, she opens the blinds which feel like they haven't been opened in months. As she is about to turn around to leave she hears the voice she fears the most which causes her to freeze.

"I gave you one rule Debbie," Lou yells. An overwhelming sense of guilt and shame rushes through Debbie's veins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we are back on track with this thing. I hope I can keep it that way as family comes into town to visit. I know this story isn't perfect, but I appreciate all of you who are keeping up with it! I hope you're having a great night/day whenever you're reading this. 
> 
> xoxo


	5. Thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens now that Debbie has been caught red-handed breaking the only rule Lou had? Can the two work past their differences or is this the end of them before they ever really got started?

"I gave you one rule Debbie," Lou yells again. Debbie turns around, tears are forming in her eyes. 

"I-I know.. but despite the notes you gave me, I needed to see them for myself.. I needed to get the value-" Debbie stutters.

"I gave you my best estimate, that should be enough. I lowballed and I don't care if I get the top dollar. I just want everything sold. And I want it done right. Being done right means you listen to every single one of my rules." Lou scolds. 

"Yeah, but if you want this done by Christmas, then you need to let me do my job. No matter how hard that is for you. I need to open up every single room and evaluate this for myself. Because this room is a huge seller. And the buyers need to know that. Please let me do my damn job." Debbie says forcefully. She has absolutely no idea where this courage has come from, but she has had it with Lou's tone and the way she's been treating her the moment she stepped through the threshold. 

"I don't care about the buyers. I care about you following my rules and not lying to me," Lou growls. 

"Well you need to care about the buyers or you're not going to get rid of this place by Christmas. And what do you mean lie to you? You told me to stay out of here, but I never promised anything," Debbie says. 

"You nodded which in my world means you understood and agreed to stay out of here. So you lied. You lied and led me on," Lous snaps. 

"Wait, is this about Thanksgiving? You saw the pictures of me and Claude, didn't you?" Debbie asks. Lou's eyes get wide for a split second but she quickly reigns in her reaction. 

"You can't be serious," Debbie scoffs and rolls her eyes. 

"This has nothing to do with him," Lou says defensively. 

"Whatever Lou," Debbie says and makes her way toward the door. 

"It doesn't. I don't care who you sleep with, because I'm sleeping with half the town. Plus, I don't even like you. I actually find you quite annoying. You and the way you think you know everything and how you're always questioning me and pushing my buttons. It's stupid," Lou confesses. The sharp pain of thorns stabbing into Debbie's heart makes it hard for her to breathe. Tears fight to break the flood barrier that she's put up. 

"You know what Lou, fuck you. Good luck with your house," Debbie says coldly. She pushes past the blond and goes into her room and locks the door. Lou just stands there in the green room, not really sure what just happened. Tears begin to fall down Debbie's face as she packs her stuff and her computer. She quickly gathers her belongings and as she is about to head downstairs she runs into Mrs. Potter. 

"Oh dear, what's wrong," Mrs. Potter asks. 

"I-I broke Lou's one rule and she said some bullshit stuff and I-I quit. I'm sorry," Debbie cries softly. 

"Oh darling, no it's okay. I'm so sorry..." Mrs. Potter says as she wipes Debbie's tears. Lou leans over the railing looking down on the two, and Mrs. Potter glares up at her. 

"I-I hope you can get this place sold. It's so beautiful and it belongs to someone who is going to appreciate this.." Debbie says softly. 

"You're right, darling.. are you sure there isn't anything I can do or say to make you stay.. I mean you are the best in the business," Mrs. Potter says as she caresses the younger woman's cheek. 

"No.. I-I'm sorry. I can't work with someone who constantly belittles me. I thought I was breaking through that exterior. I guess I was wrong.. I thought- I even began to-" Debbie begins to say but then stops herself. "Nevermind, it's useless now. Thank you for your warm hospitality Mrs. Potter," Debbie softly smiles and then continues her way down the stairs and out the door. Before she closes the door though, Beast runs to her side and walks with her outside. 

Debbie struggles to load her car with her stuff because Beast keeps walking in front of her and getting under her feet. 

"Oh Beasty boy please, I gotta go," Debbie whines softly. The dog whines back and looks at her with the saddest brown eyes. 

"I know your other momma left you, but I can't be her. I never was. I never could be. You're going to be okay sweet boy," Debbie says as she pets the chocolate lab. Beast whines but he goes and sits by the side of the car letting Debbie get the rest of the stuff in the SUV. Debbie sighs and puts the rest in the trunk. Once she is done, she goes over and gives the big dog one last kiss before getting into her car and driving back home. Before she leaves the driveway, she looks back one last time and in the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees Lou looking at her from the same window she was at the first time she came here. But when she looks again, Lou's gone. 

Back in the house, Mrs. Potter is yelling at Lou. 

"How could you say such things to her!?" Mrs. Potter yells from the bottom of the stairs. Lou rolls her eyes and starts to retreat back into the green room. Mrs. Potter storms up the stairs and catches Lou before she shuts the door. She pushes her way into the room and Lou walks back toward the opened windows. 

"She had no right to be in here," Lou growls. 

"She was just doing her job," Mrs. Potter argues back. 

"Yeah well she broke the one damn rule I had here," Lou huffs. 

"The only reason you have that damn rule is because you're still bitter about Rachael. Rachael left you 2 years ago. And I'm sorry darling, but you can't be taking it out on the one girl who has put up with your awful attitude and tried to see the best in you. I mean, did you even notice the way she watched you?" Mrs. Potter says. Lou sighs. "But instead of letting her in like a normal person, you've said some really awful stuff and now you're in danger of not only losing her. Someone you obviously care about, and being able to sell this house," Mrs. Potter states. Lou sighs again and runs her fingers through her hair. Mrs. Potter was right. Debbie was the only person in a long time to even put up with her banter for longer than a few hours. Debbie tried her best to be witty back and get her to open up. Lou now feels awful for what went down not too long ago. 

"You really think she looked at me that way?" Lou asks. 

"You're dumber than I thought," Mrs. Potter teases softly. Lou rolls her eyes. 

"Do you think I can fix it?" Lou asks. 

"If you hurry," Mrs. Potter says. 

Unfortunately for Lou, she was already much too late. Debbie was already home and locked up in her room. Debbie now was scrolling through her Facebook feed and deleting anything and everything that had to do with the Miller estate. She didn't want to see anything that reminded her of that awful place. Lou had been cruel and way out of line, and she had been stupid for thinking that she could get through to Lou and maybe they could be something more. Though when she came across a picture of her and Beast, she couldn't bring herself to delete the picture. The dog had done nothing wrong and he truly did miss him. 

*knock knock*

"Who is it?" Debbie calls out. 

"It's Danny," Danny says. 

"Come in," Debbie says softly. Danny opens the door and closes it softly behind him. He walks over and sits on the foot of Debbie's bed. 

"Wanna talk?" Danny asks. 

"Not really," Debbie says. 

"Well, maybe we can talk about the company instead?" Danny suggests. 

"Uh, sure I guess," Debbie shrugs. 

"Claude has put in an offer to buy us out. He wants you and him to run the company. Which means mainly you. It's a really good offer, and Dad is seriously considering it," Danny says. 

"You can't be serious?" Debbie scoffs. Danny nods sadly which prompts a defeated sigh out of Debbie. 

"I already run this damn business by myself. I need a partner. That's what I thought I had in you," Debbie says with a hint of resentment in her voice. 

"I know. I should have been there," Danny apologizes. 

"Yeah, and you should've taken this job," Debbie sighs. Danny nods and rubs his sister's leg. 

"I'm sorry about what happened sis," Danny trailed off. He wasn't quite sure what had actually happened, but he could tell his sister was hurt. 

"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Debbie shrugs. Danny sighs but lets it go. 

"Well you really need to talk to Dad or Claude, or both. I said this is up to you since you're practically running the business by yourself," Danny says. 

"Thanks Danny, I will," Debbie whispers. 

"Alright, well I'll leave you to it then," Danny mutters. Debbie nods and watches as her brother exits her room. Debbie then sets her phone to the side and falls asleep uncertain about what to do. 

*ring ring* 

Debbie rolls over and rubs her eyes. She reaches for her phone and looks at the time. Her phone reads 3:00 pm December 1st. She realizes that she had slept a whole 24-hrs which was extremely unlike her. She then looks at the caller ID and notices it's a 707 number which means it comes from a part of the Bay Area. She picks up her phone and then slides the answer button. 

"Hello, this is Debbie Ocean," Debbie says as she tries to sound like she didn't just wake up. 

"Hey.. uh, this is Lou. I was wondering if we could talk," Lou says quietly. 

"No, we have nothing to discuss. I quit. You only have to pay me for the days I was there," Debbie says sternly. 

"Please Debbie, let me explain," Lou begs. 

"No, I don't want to waste your time, don't you have half the town to fuck tonight," Debbie spits out. Lou sighs. She deserved that one. 

"Debbie please, just-" Lou stutters. Debbie huffs, a clear sign that she's not impressed with Lou's act. 

"Come back and let me explain," Lou begs. 

"Why should I? You clearly aren't interested in me, professionally or in any other capacity," Debbie huffs. 

"No, I am interested in you professionally. You're right. You're the best in your field and I can't do this without you," Lou admits. 

"You're right. You can't. but I'm sorry, I don't think it's gonna work out. Goodbye Lou," Debbie says. 

"No Debbie please," Lou begs pitifully. 

Debbie swallows back a few tears before answering, "No, I'm sorry. I can't.." Debbie then hits end and puts her phone back in her drawer so she's not tempted to pick the phone up again or call Lou back. To make sure she really doesn't do anything stupid, she gets up and heads out downstairs. She sneaks past her father who's asleep in his chair in the office, and past her brother who's busy at his desk. Once she's out of the house, she walks down the street to her best friend Tammy's house. 

*knock knock*

Tammy opens the door and immediately embraces the woman standing on her porch. Debbie breaks down and begins to sob heavily. Tammy helps Debbie in and they go into her living room. Tammy holds the woman tightly as she breaks down in her arms. No words were exchanged for about an hour. Once Debbie collected herself she explained the whole situation. 

"I'm sorry love," Tammy says as she kisses the top of Debbie's head. 

"Maybe I do deserve Claude," Debbie says pitifully. 

"Oh, no Debbie. You deserve someone better than Lou, and definitely someone better than Claude," Tammy says. 

"Then why do I continue to attract these kinds of people?" Debbie asks. Tammy's heart sinks as Debbie asks this. They had been a thing. They were together back in high school and throughout college. And as she recalls, Debbie was the one that ended the relationship. Despite that being so long ago, and her now being married and having 2 kids, she still had regrets about that relationship. She still loved Debbie and thought about the "what ifs" a lot. Tammy swallowed all of these emotions down and just held her friend close. 

"I don't know love," Tammy whispers. Debbie sighs and lays in her arms. The rest of the day is spent with Tammy and her kids. Debbie is thankful for the distraction and even spends the night there. 

Lou sighs and then throws her phone against her bedroom wall again once the call ends. This time it completely shatters. 

She grabs her laptop and logs onto Facebook. She scrolls through her own feed, deleting everything having to do with Rachael. Mrs. Potter was right, she was still bitter and in order to have a fresh start, she needed to cleanse herself of Rachael. She then got up and went into the green room and began to purge it of everything dead. She kept the rose bush though, she didn't have to heart to get rid of it, despite it being her ex-fiancee's favorite. She then called Mrs. Potter and asked her to pick up some snapdragons, poppies, and a new vine plant. She recalled seeing poppies on Debbie's computer and snapdragons were her favorite. 

Once Mrs. Potter came back, Lou spent the rest of the day making the room as beautiful as she could. She plants the vine and gives it a new starting point to begin to take over the room. She planted the plants she requested and a few more Mrs. Potter picked out. She even picked out Lou a new rose bush to add to the other one.

"Despite them being Rachael's favorite, I figured you could use another one. They are white, which mean a new beginning," Mrs. Potter says as she hands the bush to Lou. 

"Thanks Mrs. Potter," Lou smiles softly. 

"Don't screw this up," Mrs. Potter warns.

"I won't," Lou says confidently. 

Another few hours pass by before Lou is satisfied with what she's accomplished. She wipes her forehead, pushing her bangs out of her face. She smiles as she looks at the new room. It not only looks completely different, but she also feels completely different in it. Instead of pain, anger, and resentment flowing through her veins, she feels hope and calm as she stands in the center of the room. 

After her shower, she grabs her broken phone and checks it to see if Debbie texted or called her back. She is quickly let down as her notifications are completely empty. She then pulls up Debbie's number and texts her one last time. 

*Hey, it's Lou. It's an emergency. Beast is sick, and he isn't responding to me well. Please come back, I'm really worried about him*

Lou presses send and immediately feels guilting for lying to Debbie, but she knows that Debbie wouldn't come for any other reason. Lou waits a few hours for a response, but nothing comes through. Lou sighs and tosses her phone aside. Beast jumps up on the bed and looks at his owner. 

"I really screwed up huh Beasty boy?" Lou asks as she kisses the brown dog's head. Beast barks softly and lays his head on Lou's lap. Lou nods and slips under the covers and falls asleep regretting everything that had gone wrong with Debbie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh this chapter was kind of all over the place. I am sorry. Hope you are all still interested. Your comments and kudos mean the world to me! I love every single one of you. Have a great night/day whenever you're reading this!
> 
> xoxo


	6. Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Lou lies her way into getting Debbie to come back to the estate?

*Hey, it's Lou. It's an emergency. Beast is sick, and he isn't responding to me well. Please come back, I'm really worried about him* 

Debbie wakes up to her phone buzzing. She rubs her eyes and sits up slowly. She realizes that she's in Tammy's bed. The blonde woman is fast asleep, snoring softly. Debbie smiles at her. She remembers waking up many mornings like this. 

Once she grabs her phone and reads the text, her feet move faster than her brain can work out what's happening. She goes to grab her bag but feels a hand grab her thigh. She turns to find a half-asleep Tammy. 

"Where are you going so early?" Tammy asks. 

"Beast is sick, I have to go," Debbie mutters. 

"He isn't even your dog Deb," Tammy says as she sits up.

"I know, but he doesn't deserve to suffer just because his owner is a dick," Debbie sighs. Tammy nods and lets go of Debbie's leg. Debbie finishes collecting her things and plants a soft kiss on Tammy's forehead. 

"Thank you," Debbie whispers. 

"Anytime love," Tammy smiles. She kisses her back, and then Debbie takes off. 

She drives the hour back to Santa Rosa, and pulls directly into the driveway of the Miller mansion. As she races out of her car and runs to the door. Before she can even knock Lou has opened the door. Debbie pushes past the blonde woman and finds Beast lying on the couch in the parlor room. 

"What's wrong with you Beasty boy?" Debbie asks the droopy-eyed dog. Beast licks her hand which causes Debbie to smile. 

"I haven't taken him to the vet yet, I figured we could go to-" Lou begins to say. 

"You haven't taken him to the vet yet?! What if he's really sick?!" Debbie yells. Lou sighs a bit, as she knows Beast isn't sick at all, she just needed an excuse to get Debbie back there.

"Well we can go now if you want," Lou says. 

"Yes, we're going now," Debbie growls. She picks up the big dog and carries him gently to her SUV. Lou follows closely behind. 

"I can drive, I know this town be-" Lou begins but is cut off by Debbie handing her the keys. Lou gets in and Debbie slides in next to Beast. She strokes his head the entire way to the vet. Lou's frantic 2 am text was now coming back to haunt her. This is not how she wanted this whole reunion to go down, but she was desperate. Her heart pounds against her sternum and rib cage, trying to fly out. Her stomach practically crawled it's way up her throat and she almost loses her breakfast when they arrive at the vet. 

Debbie slides out of the car once it's parked, and carries the boy into the vet building. Lou doesn't follow too closely as she is afraid her stomach will empty its contents at any given moment. Once they're inside the building, Lou goes up the the reception desk and tells the receptionists that her dog is sick. They tell her it'll be a minute so Lou goes and sits by Debbie and Beast. 

"It'll be a minute," Lou mutters. Debbie nods and continues to stroke Beast's head. 15 minutes pass before their names are called. Debbie carries beast into the examination room and Lou follows closely. 

"So what seems to be wrong with-" the nurse pauses.

"Beast," Debbie finishes. 

"Beast, what a cute name," the nurse smiles.

"Um he threw up some yesterday and just seems very lethargic today, which is super unlike him," Lou explains. 

"Alright, I'll take some blood work and we'll see what's up with the boy," the nurse says. After drawing blood she exits the room which leaves Lou and Debbie alone. 

"Thanks for coming," Lou says trying to fill the awkward silence that has settled between them. 

"Yeah, I just hope they can figure out what's wrong," Debbie sighs. She kisses Beast's nose and looks at him sadly. Beast licks her hand which brings a smile to Debbie's face. Another 15 minutes go by before a veterinarian comes in with a chart and a few pamphlets. Lou's and Debbie's eyebrows furrow as they look at the doctor.

"Are you the Miller's?" The vet asks.

"Oh no, uh that's just me. This is my friend," Lou explains.

"Oh, my apologies. Well anyways, it looks like Beast has cancer. We will need to do further tests, but we believe it's stomach cancer," the vet says softy. Both women's hearts are struck with a sharp pain when they hear the word 'cancer'. 

"Do you know how far along it is?" Debbie asks trying to hold back tears.

"No, we would like to take more blood and do an CT scan to see what else we can find, it'll be about another 30 minutes. Is that okay?" The vet asks.

"Yes of course, do what you need to do," Lou mumbles. The doctor and an assistant carry Beast off into the back leaving the two alone again. 

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Lou," Debbie whispers.

"This-this wasn't suppose to happen," Lou says in disbelief. 

"Of course not Lou," Debbie says softly. 

"No- you don't understand. I lied to you about Beast being sick. I made something up because I knew involving him was theonly way I'd get you to come back... he wasn't sick- I don't understand," Lou explains. Debbie swallows hard when she hears Lou say she made up the whole thing, but she pushes through the pain.

"Well what matters now is that I'm here and hopefully we caught it early enough to treat it. I'll stay. For him. And I suppose while I'm at it, I'll finish your house," the brunette says. Lou looks at her, quizzically, unsure of how to respond. 

"No need to thank me or anything," Debbie trails off. Lou nods slightly. The next 25 minutes are completely silent. When the doctor comes back, Beast is walking and wagging his tail. 

"Hey buddy," Debbie smiles and kneels beside him.

"So, it's stomach cancer, but we caught it pretty early. We can talk treatment, but for now I have him some pain meds and I'll be sending you home with more," the vet explains. 

"Thanks Doc, can I call you tomorrow?" Lou asks.

"Yeah, we can discuss all that then," the vet says. Lou and the vet shake hands before he leaves. 

"Let's get you both home," Lou says. Debbie ignores the fact hat Lou suggested that the mansion was her home and follows Lou back to the car. Once they're all back, Debbie takes Beast inside while Lou grabs Debbie's stuff and explains everything to Mrs. Potter. Debbie looks back out at the teo talking and can physically feel Mrs. Potter's reaction to the news. Her heart breaks off into litte pieces. Despite knowing Beast only about a week, she loves him and can't help but be drawn to this 'family'. 

Once Lou brings her stuff back in and she gets settled back into the master bedroom, she immediately begins to go around the house and make sure everything Beast needs is accessible to him without him going very far from the living room. Mrs. Potter looks up things that will be easy on his stomach and intestines and goes out shopping. Lou just stands and watches this all unfold before her. She's still in shock that Beast was, in fact, actually sick. Sick with the worst thing possible, cancer. She didn't know what she'd do without Beast. Despite him being Rachael's choice, she still loved the dog. 

Debbie walks toward Lou and places her hand on the blonde woman's shoulder. 

"Everything is going to be okay," Debbie says softly. 

"Yeah, doc says we caught it early. I just hope whenever I move has as good of vet as him," Lou whispers.

"You still aren't thinking about moving are you?" Debbie asks.

"I have to," Lou says softly. Debbie begins to argue back but decides against it. Now was not the time. Instead she just nods and retreats into the library where she left off. 

Several hours pass by before she hears a knock on the library door. 

"Come in," Debbie calls. Lou opens the door slowly and in her hand are two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. Debbie smiles and gets up from oe of the chairs and walks over to the desk. 

"What's this for?" Debbie asks.

"Just a thank you, not only for coming for Beast, but staying. For him and for me.." Lou trails off. Debbie shakes her head and smiles up at Lou.

"No need to thank me, I'm just glad to help," Debbie says reassuringly. Lou nods and opens the wine bottle. She pours a glass for them both and hands one to Deb. 

"To Beast," Lou says with her glass up.

"To Beast," Debbie smiles. They tap their glasses and take a sip of wine. Debbie sets her glass down and picks her laptop back up. She sits at the desk and begins to type out the rest of the books left on the wall with the fireplace. Lou sits on the desk and admires Debbie as she works. By the time the woman has calculated and entered 4 books, Lou is already on her 3rd glass of wine. She's feeling it now but she doesn't care. The wine masks her true feeings about Beast's diagnosis. Once Debbie is finished, Lou has practically finished the entire bottle. Debbie helps catch her as she almost falls off the desk.

"Woah there Lou," Debbie says as she props the blonde woman up again. Lou giggles and lets out a burp. Debbie rolls her eyes and grabs the woman's shoulders. 

"Let's get you to bed," Debbie suggests. Lou smiles and taps Debbie on the nose. 

"Damn you're cute," Lou stutters. Debbie blushes and helps Lou down the spiral staircase. They almost fall twice, but luckily neither of them are wearing heels and Lou still has enough of her reflexes to grab onto the railing. Debbie walks them to the master bedroom, since Lou's room is downstairs and she is cetain they won't make it down anothet set of stairs. She lays Lou down, and gently starts to peel off her clothes. 

"Oooh, we gonna have sex? Drunk sex is something I've always wanted to try," Lou hiccups. 

"No Lou, you're going to sleep," Debbie says. 

"Dang, but you're so hot though," Lou pouts. Debbie bluses again.

"I get why someone like Claude would want you. You're perfect," Lou gigles and winks. Debbie shakes her head trying to hide a smile. 

"Claude wants me so he can add another notch to his belt of accomplishments. Nothing more," Debbie says. 

"Does he love you?" Lou barely mnages to get out. 

"No," Debbie replies. 

"Do you love him?" Lou asks. 

"No, and I never will," Debbie nods. 

"Good, glad to hear," Lou winks. Debbie laughs softly and covers Lou up once her boots, jeans, shirt and suit coat are removed.

Debbie almost makes it out the door before she hears Lou whisper, "stay please."

Debbie turns and finds the blonde woman's eyes full of tears and a bottom lip folded over and quivering. Debbie crawl into the bed with Lou and pulls her into her arms. Lou rests her head on the brunette’s chest and begins to sob heavily. Debbie rubs Lou's back soothingly and whispers over and over that it's going to be okay. About 45 minutes pass before Lou can even get a word out through her tears.

"I can't lose him," Lou cries.

"You won't Lou," Debbie whispers.

"I don't know what I'll do," Lou whimpers. 

"He'll be okay. I promise," Debbie says reassuringly. 

"I can't do this alone," Lou whispers.

"And you won't, I'll be right here," Debbie says as she takes the blonde haired woman's fce in her hands. She looks into Lou's red puffy eyes and caresses her cheeks while simultaneously wiping away tears. Lou's eyes start to flutter as they are being dragged down by exhaustion. Debbie lays down and Lou immediately lays her head back onto Debbie's chest. Her slender arms wrap around Debbie's frame and she clings on tightly. Debbie reaches and pulls the covers up both of them.

"Goodnight Lou," Debbie whispers. Soon the both of them are fast asleep entangled with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all th support this story has gotten lately. All of you are amazing and I hope you're having a lovely holiday vacation/season. If you don't celebrate I hope you're having a lovely December. We're almot to 2019. We made it. I'm so proud of us! Keep going, and have a lovely night/day whenever you're reading this.
> 
> Xoxo


	7. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories are a powerful thing. Lou and Deb both relive some old things drawing them closer together.

Lou wakes up first of the two. She rubs her head before reaching over and grabbing her phone. It reads December 2nd 8:00 am. She slips out of Deb's soft grasp knowing Beast is going to need to go out and eat soon. As she heads downstairs she begins to make a list in her head of all the things she is going to do today. Today is going to be all about Beast and what he needs. As she approached the kitchen, she could hear the thump of his tail against the hardwood floor. Lou smiles and goes to lay beside the big dog. Beast rolls on his side which allows her to rest her head on his body.

"Hey boy," Lou whispers. Beast's tail thumps harder against the hardwood as it wags happily. Lou kisses his soft fur. She closes her eyes and everything comes back slowly.

********

"Come on Louie," Rachael coos as she pulls her lover's hand toward the door. Lou had promised Rachael a puppy when she completed med school. Lou was excited about getting a dog, but most importantly, she was excited to make Rachael happy. Rachael ran to the glass windows which showcased the dogs that the pound had for adoption. Lou followed closely behind.

"Oh Louie, how am I going to pick? They're all just so cute," Rachael squealed.

"We need a big dog for the house baby," Lou said with a smile. Rachael nodded and began to look at the puppies. A small chocolate brown lab sat in the corner trying to catch the other dog's tail. Rachael squealed when she saw it and pointed at the dog.

"Oh Louie, that one!" Rachael beamed. Lou walked over and looked at the clumsy dog who was now chasing the other dog's tail. Lou smiled and kissed Rachael's cheek.

"Okay love," Lou said. She then went to go grab someone so they could meet the little guy.

Once they were in the visitation room, Rachael couldn't stop smiling. She leaned down to greet the little guy and immediately he had taken a liking to her. Lou couldn't help but fall more in love as she watched her lover turn into a child with this dog. As each moment passed by, the bond between the two grew stronger and stronger.

"Can we take him home Louie?" Rachael asked.

"Of course baby," Lou smiled. Rachael squealed and unexpectedly jumped into Lou's arms. Lou quickly reacted and caught her just in time so she wouldn't fall. Rachael kissed Lou slowly and then hopped out of the strong woman's arms to pick up their new family member. They then signed the paperwork and bought a few toys. They had most of the stuff they needed at home already, but Rachael found some toys she liked and insisted they get them for him.

"What are you going to name him baby?" Lou asked as they walked out with the chocolate lab.

"I don't know, I really don't want a human name though," Rachael said.

"So we can't name him Max?" Lou teased. Rachael shook her head and pouted.

"No! Especially because that's probably one of the most overused dog names in the history of the world," Rachael whined. Lou just laughed and put the new toys in the back of the truck.

Once they were back at the house, Rachael took the small dog on the tour of the house.

"Now this is the lounge, I'm sure you'll be spending many mornings in here lounging on the floor. The windows bring in so much sunlight and between you and me, it's the best sunbathing spot," Rachael whispered. Lou just smiled as she watched her girlfriend talk to the dog as if he could actually understand. They then went into the kitchen and immediately the dog's nose was pointed up into the air.

"Yes, this is the kitchen. Probably your favorite spot in the whole house. It has food, which you will have plenty of. And despite what Mrs. Potter or Lou says, you can always have a bite of whatever I am having," Rachael continued. Lou rolled her eyes. She knew she was not going to have much of a say on how spoiled this dog was going to be. She didn't mind though because the cheer amount of joy that he had already brought into their lives was enough for her to excuse everything he was about to do.

They then moved onto all the other rooms downstairs before heading upstairs. They went into the master bed which looked the exact same. She plopped the small dog onto the bed and laid down with him. He ran around and flopped about.

"Oh silly boy this is called the bed. It's soft and warm and it's where Lou and I will sleep. While she won't let you sleep here during the night, I promise every morning I'll get up and bring you in here with me so we can have morning cuddles. I need something to replace Lou as she gets up at some ungodly hours," Rachael teased.

"You know I wouldn't leave you if I didn't have to love," Lou said with a smile.

"I know baby, but I still need cuddles," Rachael said as she pet the puppy. Lou nodded and helped Rachael back up off the bed. Before leaving, Rachael scooped up the puppy and then proceeded up the spiral staircase into the library.

"Now see this boy.. this is a special room. It's called a library. It has lots and lots of books, which you aren't allowed to eat. We spend a significant amount of time in here. I can't wait to be cozied up by the fire with a good book in the winter. I'm sure you'll be by our feet laying by the fire when we are here," Rachael whispered. Lou looked at the fireplace and her future began to form in front of her as she imagined them sitting there with their coffee and tea reading their books and listening to the crackling roar of the fire blazing in the fireplace. She could see the dog at her feet or in Rachael's lap. Her heart bubbled with happiness as she could see them as a family together.

They then made their way to the green room which at this time was covered in roses. The small puppy's eyes got wide as he got a whiff off all the new smells. Rachael brought him up to one of the plants to get a closer look, but instead of just looking he decided to take a bite out of one. Rachael swatted the puppy on its nose lightly.

"You're not supposed to eat them you little beast," Rachael scolded. Lou suddenly saw a lightbulb appear above Rachael's head as an idea came to her.

"His name should be Beast! We live in a castle like the one from Beauty and the Beast. We have roses and a library. And obviously, I am Belle because I am a princess. Oh my gosh, this is perfect. This was meant to be. You are now Beast, and you and I are going to own the place," Rachael squealed.

"Oh so who am I?" Lou asked playfully offended by the notion that she wasn't the Beast.

"Oh can't you see silly, you are Lumière," Rachael giggled.

"Haha, very funny Rach," Lou said sarcastically. Rachael just continued to giggle and proceeded to tell Beast the story of Beauty and the Beast. Despite being dragged by her girlfriend, her heart continued to overflow with happiness. Everything was going right. She had a new family now and it was even more complete now that Beast was in their lives.

********

Debbie, with her laptop, tucked tightly under her arm, walks softly toward the sleeping beauty who's rested on the body of the Beast. She quietly pulls out her phone and snaps a quick picture, and then proceeds to the kitchen where she whips up a quick meal for herself and leaves a plate for Lou for whenever she wakes up.

She then goes off downstairs into the basement, one of the places she hasn't been. While she would love to spend the majority of her time in the library, she preferred to savor it and only go in there for a few hours at a time. Her hands search the wall gently as she tries to find the light switch. Unfortunately, when she finds it, nothing happens. She pulls out her phone and before she turns on the flashlight, she notices 4 missed calls from Claude and 2 from her dad.

"I'll deal with you two later," Debbie mumbles to herself. She then turns on the flashlight and walks downstairs carefully. She reaches another door and opens it. Thankfully automatic lights turn on as she opens the door.

"Wow, this is going to take more than a few days," Debbie says as she looks at the various mountains of boxes and the multiple doors. As she makes her way around, she realizes that this isn't an ordinary basement that most Californians have, instead, it's like a whole other floor. Her fingers brushed over a pair of dusty leather recliners facing an old school TV. She remembers her grandparent's place looking something like this.

********

Debbie peeked around the corner searching for her grandfather. She was staying at his place for the week while her father, mother, and brother were out of town for Danny's baseball tournament. Debbie went every once and a while, but she'd rather spend her time with her grandparents. The minute Debbie entered their lives, they instantly had a connection to her.

As she turned another corner and walked down the hall, she noticed one of the doors was cracked open. She quickly ran to it and pushed it open where she found the man she had been looking for with a large brown thing in his hand.

"Papa! What's that?" Debbie asked. The older man looked at the 8-year-old girl and smiled brightly.

"Well sweetpea, this 1 out of 750 copies of The Grimm's Fairy Tales made in 1909. It is a very old book in almost perfect condition. It is very special and very rare," Papa Ocean said.

"I love fairy tales Papa, can you read one to me?" Debbie asked. Debbie's Papa smiled and nodded. He took his granddaughter's hand and they walked into the living room. He sat down in his old leather recliner and scooped his granddaughter up into his arms and placed her on his lap. Debbie curled into his strong arms and nestled her cheek into his big strong chest. Mr. Ocean then opened the book carefully and began to read "Cinderella".

As Debbie listened to the story, she couldn't help but smile. Not only was she enchanted by the way her Papa told the story, but she was in love with the book. She was amazed by how old it was, yet how new it looked. This sparked her interest in old books which her Papa was absolutely delighted in. As soon as he noticed her interested he took her to all the famous bookstores, every presidential library, and any other library he thought was worthwhile. It took them on many adventures over the years. While on their adventures he also taught her everything he knew about the book industry. She learned how to care for them, restore them, and properly date them. Not only that, but he had also spent countless hours reading to her throughout the years, even when she was in college, he would still read to her. It was their way of bonding and staying connected to one another despite any distance that separated them.

********

Debbie smiles as she relives her most treasured memories. She sets up her laptop at the kitchen table and begins to catalog the things in what appears to be a living room. She then wanders into the kitchen, pulling out drawers and opening cabinets just in case there is anything left in there. She finds a few pieces of China and a few crystal bowls but nothing too significant. She estimates the total in the room is no more than a few hundred if that.

"I see you found the basement," Lou says. Deb jumps up and almost drops her laptop when she hears Lou's voice.

"Oh, gee, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to startle you," Lou says apologetically. Debbie takes a minute to catch her breath and get her heart rate under control before answering.

"Yeah, way to give me a heart attack. I don't think me dying on your property is going to raise its value," Debbie jokes. Lou just rolls her eyes and gives her half smirk which prompts Debbie's heart to speed back up.

"So what was this place?" Debbie asks.

"When my grandparents grew weaker and unable to move about the large mansion as easily as they once used to, I converted the basement into a living area for them. It allowed them to have all their necessities on a single level which made life a lot easier. I pretty much lived down here while they were both still alive. Though every once and a while my grandpa would make the treck up to the library. He never could stay away from there," Lou explains. Debbie smiles at the thought of Lou helping her grandpa up to the library so that he could sit there in his chair and enjoy his life's work.

"Is there anything I should know about down here or?" Debbie asks.

"Eh, nothing super important is down here. I cleaned most of it out when they passed away. You may find a few family things of sentimental importance rather than anything with monetary value. Though I'm sure you could sell some things in here," Lou replies.

"Okay, though this all together would be more of a selling point. A guest living area or something the new owners could rent out or have this be a whole kids area," Deb says. Lou nods.

"Well, I won't hold you up any longer," Lou mumbles.

"Alright.. thanks, I'll see you around?" Debbie asks.

"Yeah, uh dinner at 6?" Lou suggests.

"Sure thing Lou," Debbie smiles. Lou's heart skips a beat as she looks at Debbie's beautiful smile. Despite everything, she can't help but continue to develop a strong liking for the woman.

When 6 pm rolls around Debbie emerges from the basement. The smell of something on the grill catches her nose quite quickly and prompts her stomach to react with a growl. She then walks into the kitchen where she finds Mrs. Potter putting some grilled corn on the cob on a plate.

"Hello! How was your day Debbie?" Mrs. Potter asks.

"It was good, I got most of the basement done," Debbie smiles.

"That's good, I'm glad. It looks like we are right on schedule," Mrs. Potter says.

"Indeed. Wow this all looks amazing," Debbie says as she looks at the array of food on the island.

"You can thank Lou for this, it was her idea," Mrs. Potter winks. Debbie blushes slightly.

"Where is she by the way?" Debbie asks.

"Outside grilling still," Mrs. Potter responds. Debbie nods and follows the delicious aroma of grilled meat flowing in from outside. Lou doesn't notice Debbie come outside and is presently surprised when she feels a hand gently resting on her shoulder.

"Hey there! I hope you like steak," Lou says with a smile.

"Hmm I love it," Debbie drools. Lou laughs and then has to bite her lip before her tongue gets the best of her. Instinctively she was about to reply back with, "Hmm not as much as I love you though." Lou shakes her head and mutters to herself. Despite only knowing each other a week, something about this girl has Lou already thinking about the 4 letter word. Her heart pounded as the silence between them grew longer. Deb slowly moves her hand down Lou's back and places it right above her waist as she watches the woman cook. Lou almost forgets what she is doing as she is so intensely focusing on what Debbie is doing.

"You don't want to burn my food now," Debbie teases. Lou snaps back to reality as she hears Debbie's voice. Lou takes off the steaks and sets them to rest.

"Hmm I can't wait," Deb smiles as she moves her hand just a little lower before slipping off back into the kitchen. Lou stands there holding her breath as she watches the woman leave. She continues to watch Debbie as she sits on the floor to tend to Beast. The memory of Rachael pops back into her brain which causes the hole in which Rachael used to fill to ache. Her heart crawls into her throat and beats loudly, reminding her of her old lover. Lou's fears of new people always went back to Rachael. She clung onto her despite the messy breakup. Though maybe Mrs. Potter was right. Instead of Debbie being there to erase and replace the memories of Rachael, she was there to make new ones and help Lou start over. If not for her sake, but for Beast's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so sorry for not updating this like I was supposed to. I really got discouraged and doubted the story a lot. I still don't think this is quite right yet, but I was in a writing mood and published a chapter to Ocean's 8 1/2 and this one. I hope I am somewhat on the right track and still have some of you interested. I apologize for this story is not my best work... Anyways, hope you have a great night/day whenever you are reading this
> 
> xoxo
> 
> (I'm so sorry this story is trash tier)


	8. Dinner Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, so when Lou creates a dinner worth serving an army for Debbie can't help but fall a little more.

"Wow, this is one of the most wonderful feasts I've ever seen," Debbie gushes as she sees all the food laid out on the island. It was a feast, despite there only being 3 of them there to eat it all. There were small appetizers that covered two large white plates, the steaks were done to perfection, there were two dishes of potatoes served different ways, an assortment of barbequed veggies was laid out perfectly on a tray, and a cake towered over the rest of the food. 

"Yeah, I guess we went a little overboard," Mrs. Potter laughs as she looks at the island. 

"Hey, means we get left-overs for days," Lou shrugs and laughs. Debbie smiles and places her hand back on the small of Lou's back. Lou inhales sharply as the small of her back ignite. Her body shivers as the fire spread all over her body. Debbie picks up on this, but instead of believing she was on fire, she assumes Lou is actually cold and begins to rub her hand up and down the blonde woman's back. Every single nerve ending on Lou's back screamed as they had been so touched starved for the past 2 years. 

"Alright, are we ready?" Mrs. Potter asks. 

"I am starving," Debbie says and then walks to the dining table. Lou's body freezes back over as Debbie's hand leaves her. She follows the brunette like a small puppy craving their owner's attention. Mrs. Potter watches them both and her eyes water. She has been waiting for this moment for what seems like eons. Raising Lou was her most meaningful job, and when Rachael broke Lou's heart, she felt like she had failed. She couldn't bring that perfect smile back no matter how hard she tried. She would buy Lou expensive collectibles that used to interest Lou, but she really was only interested in them because of Rachael. She tried to cook for Lou, but Lou rarely at anything the first year. The blonde lost nearly 50lbs in a span of 10 months. She even thought about adopting another dog, but Lou barely could get out of bed to feed Beast. When the talk of selling the house came about it was no surprise to Mrs. Potter. She had been expecting it as Lou got more and more out of her shell of depression. Instead, the blonde woman was utterly bitter and sour about everything. Everything about nothing was wrong. She'd nitpick at anything and everyone she could. Mrs. Potter watched on as men would enter the house and leave before the night was over. She hated that Lou was wasting her time with these people as she knew they would never satisfy Lou. Lou had always been strictly attracted to women, and these men were just there to fill a hole when they were a triangle. Finally once Lou's sexcapade stopped, she had asked Mrs. Potter to find an appraisal company to help with the process of selling the house. Mrs. Potter was delighted as she had the perfect company already in mind. 

********

"You know any appraisal companies?" Lou asked. 

"Yeah, I have an old friend who has a company," Mrs. Potter said. 

"Alright, well see if you can give them a call and set up a meeting. I want to get this done before Christmas," Lou said. Mrs. Potter nodded and pulled out her old phone book. It had been forever since she talked to this family, but she knew they'd help her out despite it. She had grown up about a block from an old antique shop that happened to be owned and operated by Debbie's grandpa, Eugene Maddox Ocean. She'd stop by every Thursday on her way home from school to not only look at the new pieces that showed up, but to meet a very special little boy who happened to work there too. His name was James Ocean, but to all his friends he was Jack. When the market went down, the family opened their side business which was an appraisal business. 

Mrs. Potter dialed up her old friend and her heart still sped up whenever she heard a deep silky voice. 

"Hello, this is Daniel Ocean from Ocean's Appraisals, how can I help you?" Danny asked. 

"Oh, hello Daniel, my name is Abigail Potter, I was actually looking for Jack Ocean," Mrs. Potter stumbles. She is surprised at how similar the younger man sounds to Jack. 

"My father retired from the business a few years ago. I am his son, and my sister Deborah also works here," Daniel said. 

"I see.." Mrs. Potter trails off. She remembers that Jack got married to his high school sweetheart Eleanor Bates. She had heard through the grapevine that they had a son soon after they got married but she never knew about a daughter. 

"My father is in actually right now. Would you like to speak to him?" Daniel asked. 

"Oh yes please!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. 

"Alright give me a minute," Daniel said. A few moments passed by before she heard the real voice that made her heart melt. 

"Hello this is Jack, who am I speaking with?" Jack asked. 

"Hello Jack, it's me, Abigail Potter.. I don't know if you remember me but-" Mrs. Potter started to say. 

"Abi! It's been so long! How have you been?" Jack beamed. She could hear that infectious smile through the phone like old times. They had grown up together extremely close. Jack had a much older brother named Carl but because of their age difference they never really saw eye to eye. Instead, she became like the sister he never had and he became the brother she had always wanted. 

"I'm good, things are great. How about you?" Mrs. Potter smiled. 

"That's great! I am doing okay. Eleanor died about 5 years ago which is when I retired. But other than that life has been good. My son is engaged to Tess Brown. She is Ben and Norma's daughter. And my daughter Debbie is exactly like my old man so she is a great kid to have around," Jack explained. 

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear about Eleanor, Jack. I send my deepest condolences," Mrs. Potter said softly. 

"Thank you Abi. What about you? Do you have a husband or any kids? And are you still working for the Miller family?" Jack inquired. 

"Oh, no. No husband and no kids. I do still work for the Miller family. They had a daughter and a son that I practically raised. So they're like my kids I suppose. But this is actually why I am calling, the daughter, Lou is ready to sell the estate and I need some help with it," Mrs. Potter explained. 

"Of course! We can help you, no problem. I won't be doing it, but my son Daniel can," Jack said. 

"That sounds great!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. 

"Terrific! I'll give you back to Daniel and you two can work those things out. But I am super glad you called. Maybe we could meet up sometime for coffee and lunch?" Jack said. 

"Yeah, that sounds lovely. Thank you Jack," Mrs. Potter smiled. 

"I can hear you smiling you know," Jack teased. 

"Oh hush, now give me to Daniel please," Mrs. Potter laughed. Jack handed the phone back to Daniel and the two of them worked out a deal. While she was working out the details with Daniel, she was simultaneously looking up Debbie Ocean. She found her Facebook and immediately got an idea. She knew the minute she looked at her that she was the one that she needed, or well Lou needed. She was Lou's type but looked much different than Rachael. They both carried themselves the same way, both loved books and were ambitious in their endeavors. Her heart overfilled with joy as she stared at what she believed to be the cure for little girl's broken heart. 

"Alright, is that everything?" Daniel asked. 

"Actually, would it be possible for Debbie to come out here instead? I remember Jack saying something about her being just like your grandfather Eugene, and we do have a very extensive library here," Mrs. Potter suggested. 

"Of course. That shouldn't be a problem. I'll have her head out straight away," Daniel said.

"Thank you, it was a pleasure doing business with you," Mrs. Potter said. 

"You as well, Debbie shall see you shortly," Daniel said. When she hung up the phone she went to tell Lou about the company she had hired. While Lou trusted Mrs. Potter, she did some research on her own about the company and was comfortable with the fact that Daniel was the lead appraiser. The picture of the brunette woman made her feel something she hadn't felt in years and knew trouble would spell if she were the one coming. Little did she know, Mrs. Potter set her up for a very unexpected surprise. 

********

"Oh my god these veggies are amazing," Debbie gushes. She reaches and puts another spoonful on her plate. 

"Thank you, my grandma taught me how to do that," Lou smiles. 

"Oh well you are going to definitely teach me how to do that," Debbie winks. 

"Maybe," Lou teases. 

"Rude," Debbie glares playfully. Lou just smiles and takes a bite of her steak. She lets out a sigh of happiness as the steak melts onto her mouth. While her grandfather taught her most of the things she knows, she learned how to cook from her grandma and it was one of her most useful skills. She hadn't cooked in a really long time as she did not have the energy or the motivation too. Mrs. Potter had also been taught by her grandma how to cook so she never felt the need to do it herself even after she pulled herself out of the slumps. 

The rest of the night is spent telling stories about each of the women's childhoods and their relationship with their grandparents. While they had come from completely different lifestyles and faced many different life experiences, each of them shared a sacred connection with their grandparents that connected them instantly. 

"Thank you so much for this wonderful meal," Debbie says after taking the last bite of her steak.

"It was really her idea," Lou says as she points to Mrs. Potter. 

"Absolutely not, I will not take this one Lou. It was your idea, don't try and be modest now," Mrs. Potter teases. 

"Alright fine... I guess it was my idea. But you don't need to thank me, most days I just lay around the house. Flabby, fat and lazy. You walked in and I guess I just got some motivation to finally get up and do something. You're a guest, and I am blessed. I hope you like the wine that's been poured. And I've even had the napkins freshly pressed.." Lou rambles. Debbie giggles slightly as Lou loses track of her thoughts and begins to fumble over subjects. This causes Lou to trip even more. She can't seem to focus. Despite the woman in front of her doing absolutely nothing to steal her heart, she can't help but feel it already being slowly taken away. 

"Anyone up for dessert," Mrs. Potter asks trying to save Lou from tripping too hard over her own words. 

"I am, and can I have some tea with that please?" Debbie asks. 

"My dear that's fine with me," Mrs. Potter smiles. Lou gets up to help Mrs. Potter get dessert started. Shortly after, Mrs. Potter comes back with the tea and sets it next to Debbie. Lou cuts into the cake and brings out a plate with a slice for each of them. The rest of the night is spent talking about desserts as Deb can't seem to stop gushing about how good this one is. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Morning arrives and Debbie wakes up to find herself in the bedroom she calls her own with a vary familiar face. 

"Beasty boy, how did you get up here?" Debbie asks. She closes her eyes trying to recall the events from last night. She remembers there being more wine and maybe even some champagne. She also recalls dancing in the lounge to some of Lou's old records, but after that it is blank. As she gets up, her head starts to pound. 

"And this is why I stay away from champagne," Debbie says aloud. Beast whines sympathetically which causes Debbie to smile despite her pain. She goes into the bathroom and pops a few Advil before changing to start her day. 

When she arrives downstairs she is met with a bouquet of flowers with a note. 

-"Hope you splet well, I will be out for a few days on business and Mrs. Potter is with me too. Please feel free to continue your work. A few meals have been prepped and are in the fridge waiting for you if you would like. Beast has a vet appointment at 3, Charlie, my gardener offered to take him if you are too busy. Please do not feel obligated to take him. Your work needs to get done. Have a wonderful day. I'll see you soon Debbie. XO Lou"- 

Debbie smiles at the note and takes a good whiff of the flowers before heading into the kitchen where she is met with pancakes and a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. She takes a seat at the island and eats her breakfast while she skims through the SF Chronical. Over the course of 45 minutes, she finishes her breakfast and reading the paper. Throughout the time, every so often Debbie's mind would wander off and imagine herself in this house, or a house similar to it, living the life she had always wanted with the person of her dreams. While she had never formally come out, she had always known she was attracted to both men and women. She dated boys mainly throughout her life, but she had a few flings with women too. Her first and only major relationship though was with Tammy. They began dating in high school and throughout her stay at college. She ended it shortly after. Since then though it had been mainly small casual relationships with men that never went farther than a few months. She felt no real connection to anyone and was mainly focused on her job. This job changed everything though. Meeting Lou was like breathing a breath of fresh air after being surrounded by smog and pollution. She felt something she never had, even with Tammy. She could see herself happy, here, with Lou, and that idea scared her more than anything. 

The rest of the day was spent cataloging just one of the rooms downstairs. She had thought she had gotten most of it done yesterday but she learned very quickly that she was wrong. 

"I thought you said you cleaned it out," Deb says aloud as she sits in the middle of a pile of stuff. Lou must have forgotten or just accumulated stuff down here after she had cleaned it out because the last two rooms were filled to the brim. At 2:30 she came up and ate the lunch Lou had prepared for her. Charlie stopped by a little early which lead to them chatting about Beast and about his cancer. When 3 rolled around, Charlie insisted that he take him, but Debbie begged to as she wanted to be with him and she needed a break from staring at inanimate objects. 

By the time Debbie pokes her head out again from the basement, it is already 12 am. Debbie begins to walk around the house checking for any signs of life. 

"Beast?" Debbie calls out. The dog comes trotting down the stairs and brushes up against her. 

"Hey boy.." Debbie says. Beast whines and sits on her feet. 

"Yeah, I know.. it's weird without them here," Debbie sighs and pets the dog lovingly. The trip to the vet was as good as to be expected. He was given pills to take and a calendar of potential chemotherapy schedules. She told the vet she would have to have Lou look it over before anything was decided. 

"Well why don't we go upstairs and sleep it off. The more sleep we get, the faster they'll get here," Debbie says. As they both make their way up the stairs and to her room, she realizes how much she truly misses Lou. Due to their hostile start and banter over the last week, she never really saw herself growing attached to her. But in the last few days, she slowly became more and more attached and now as she lies alone on the bed, she can feel a deep sense of emptiness growing in her. As the hour's pass, the house grew completely silent and the world around her stood still. The loneliness rages war on Debbie's body on sleep, but her body eventually wins the fight and she drifts off to sleep dreaming of the girl who has left a hole in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy friends, I apologize again for the late update. At least it wasn't a month this time! Okay, I really hope you got the reference to the song "Be Our Guest" cause if not that's awkward. LOL. Anyways, thanks again for sticking with this story. I love all of you. Hope you are having a great night/day whenever you are reading this!
> 
> xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all your support, I promise I will still be updating Ocean's 8 1/2, but I watched this horrible super heterosexual rom-com and I thought I could do a better job at it, starring my favorite couple Lou and Deb. We need more wlw Christmas rom-coms anyways. Stay tuned for more! All your kudos and comments are appreciated. Have a great night/day whenever you are reading this!
> 
> xoxo


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